Closed caucus, party problems, fractured into factions & Dem leaders on Open Primaries

Dozens of roads between Sioux Falls and Sioux City are closed as heavy rains and flash flooding continues to grip the region. Parts of South Dakota received up to five inches of rain since Thursday morning. Among the hardest hit, in Lincoln County where offic…

The campaign to do away with primary elections controlled by political parties has a few more allies after partisan voters cast ballots this month. The campaign committee behind South Dakota Open Primaries (SDOP) is basking in the afterglow of the June 4 primary election that saw several high-profile upsets of longtime GOP lawmakers and establishment-backed Republican candidates. And though SDOP Chairman Joe Kirby would have preferred to see fewer victories for the faction of his political party that is considered less moderate, those results could bode well for his efforts come November.

As results for South Dakota’s Republican state legislative races began to come in Tuesday evening, the night felt like it had the makings to include at least a few pivotal upsets. In District 1, incumbent lawmaker Tamara St. John maintained a dwindling lead with her home county reporting fully, and down the road in Watertown, fellow House lawmaker Byron Callies appeared to be in the fight of his young political life.